Now in its third year, the Sto. Niño novena mass and Sinulog celebration at St. Agatha’s Parish in Cranbourne has been blessed with the presence of its devotees from the local area in the southeast and from all over Melbourne. The novena mass has been celebrated from 6th to 14th January 2023 at 7 PM to accommodate all devotees and parishioners coming from work and celebrate the mass for the Holy Child. Fr. Joseph Abutu, parish priest of St. Agatha, knew full well the devotion of Filipinos in the parish: the Simbang Gabi novena mass at 5 AM in December 2022 in honour of Mary, the Mother of God, was a well-attended mass despite a very early start; and the succeeding Sto. Niño mass after a two-week break is the apex of this celebration when the “Word became flesh” in the person of the Holy Child.
The Sinulog mass and celebration will be celebrated on 15 January 2023 at 1:30 PM. The main celebrant is Fr. Stanly Devasia (Assistant Parish Priest), and preacher will be Fr. Junray Rayna from St. Killian’s Parish in Bendigo, together with Deacon Neil Daculan.
The celebration has been aptly supported by a core group of Cebuano devotees who formed the Santo Niño Foundation of Australia, Inc. (SNFAI) composed of Madeleine Hidalgo, Beth Avila, Tulip Ramirez, Lyn Montera, Precy Zhang, Nelia Ciar and Neil Daculan. This year’s President, Madeleine Hidalgo, has been at the helm of team planning for the Sinulog festivities as well as the daily novena mass in coordination with the parish deacon.
The celebration is blessed with a host of visiting mass celebrants: Fr. Percival Sevare OSA (Sydney), Fr. Junray Rayna (Bendigo), Fr. Novie Lim (Echuca), Fr. Dean Bongat (Kerang/Cohuna/Pyramid Hill), Fr. Junjun Amaya (Wodonga/Corryong/Tallangata) and Fr. Confidence Masvosva (Warragul). The beauty of their preaching reflects the diversity of Australia as a nation. As Filipino migrants it heals the ache of missing the Sinulog celebration back home in Cebu, with all its solemnity in the novena mass and pageantry in the Sinulog dances. The Sinulog dancers are composed of several groups: Sinulog Liturgical Dancers, Youth Sinulog Dancers, Kabataan Sinulog Dancers, Tribu Panaghiusa and 2 groups of Sinulog dancers from Pakenham.
The Sinulog dance which started in the 1600s but only recognisably noted in 1891, in the words of historian Pedro Chirino is done with “graceful decency, moving their hands in harmony with their feet…moving slowly, then rapidly, moving forward then stepping back…now they are on fire, now calm.” The Sinulog dance is the main form of worship to the Holy Child, which reminds the faithful of King David when he danced before the Lord to celebrate and his willingness “to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes” (see 2 Samuel 6:21-22).
In a poem, I Praise the Dance, which is attributed to St. Augustine, dance “binds the isolated to the community” and he admonished us kindly, “O man, learn to dance, or else the angels in heaven will not know what to do with you.”
Viva Pit Señor!
